Chapter 21
21
BENJAMIN
Connor was a big ol' tattletale. I loved my alpha, but he was supposed to be on my side. I helped him with two little work projects, and then I got a visit from Pops, carrying a laptop and paperwork for me to sign.
"If you want to work for my bank," he said, "You'll be paid." He didn't say the rest, but I heard it loud and clear in my mind. "And you'll be grateful."
"Thank you," I mumbled. At the bottom of the contract, where it listed my generous salary and benefits elections, it said, "To be renegotiated in six months," with a date that coincided with my return to work after the bank's three-month paternity leave.
"This is too much already," I said. "Why do we need to renegotiate?"
"You'll see," was all Pops said.
My new job was simple enough. I compiled all the bank's vast resource manuals into one source document, and Connor added the information to the bank's applications and websites page by page. Some of the information was customer-facing, and some for customer service, but most of the information detailed the bank's back-end systems. While Connor reviewed the current guidelines, he even found new ways to tweak the processes, and in some cases, rewrite the programs to make the bank run more efficiently.
I loved working with Connor, but I found myself bored with the project. The foreign finance department's processes intrigued me more than the rest because they dealt with money conversion and foreign markets, my fields of study in college.
We finished the department's pages in late August, so I was filled with job apathy when we went to Jake's house for Labor Day. The work talk at family cookouts had always annoyed me, but after a few minutes of venting to my family, I realized how cathartic it was to share with people who understood.
While Connor and Jake discussed an app Connor had developed, I whispered, "I'm so sorry," to Pops. "I used to hate you all for talking about work at our family get-togethers. I was such an asshole."
"We're glad you're with us now." Pops patted my shoulder and steered me toward the cooler filled with bottled water and soft drinks.
I was glad, too. I'd always hated the thought of working at the bank, but now, I wanted to know what more I could do for the family company. Connor and I had plenty of time to finish our project before we both took paternity leave.
"Is that offer in Foreign Finance still available?" I asked Pops.
"Maybe." He winked. "You'll have to ask about it during your six-month review."
When he laughed, he sounded pleased, and not so much that he was laughing at me. I hugged him extra tight before we left for the evening.
We'd walked the three blocks from our home to Jake's. On the walk back, Connor took my hand, not minding that my waddle made my arms swing.
"Jeff was good tonight," Connor said. "Polite. Didn't throw a single tantrum."
"If you keep rewarding him with Connie time, he'll be a changed man by the time he's ten." Jeffrey's guests had told him all about their fabulous time with Connie. He'd even called me up the next weekend to ask if my dog friend could come over to play if he did all his chores for two weeks. The bribe worked, and we visited.
My family got to meet "Connie the dog," too. They all secretly knew about shifters, though none had bothered to share the secret with me. Pops said our family had shifter ancestors. Jake and Alex's best friend in high school had been a cat shifter, and Josie's wife, Audrey, was a badger shifter. I'd been oblivious to all the badger jokes, and I'd skipped out of their wedding reception early, before her side of the family shifted and performed a special dance.
Audrey had given birth to my little niece, Mina, in July, and this was the first family gathering they'd attended since. Tonight was the first time she and Connor had shifted together and played in Jake's backyard until the burgers were ready.
"Did you have fun?" I asked.
"Yes! Audrey is fast and strong. My wolf loved play-fighting with her."
Audrey had explained that badgers often fought larger predators in the wild. I'd worried they would take things too far and attack each other, but Connor reassured me before he shifted.
"We're still people in there, even though we look and sound like animals."
I knew that, I did, but seeing a wolf and a badger playing with my human niblings was a fantastical sight. I half-expected a musical score to pick up or everyone to burst into a lighthearted song.
I dug my knuckles into my lower back once we were inside the door. My muscles ached from standing so long.
"Here, love. Let me help." Connor ushered me to the rocking recliner and helped me lift my legs while he shoved a footrest beneath them.
My jaw cracked with a huge yawn. "I should just go to bed."
"Not yet," he said. "I have something I want to show you, but I need a few more minutes in the baby's room. Will you wait for me?"
How could I resist his expectant smile? "Of course I will."
A few minutes later, he returned for me. Instead of letting me waddle through the living room and down the hall, he picked me up bridal-style and carried me. The baby kicked from the shift in position, and I laughed. "Don't worry baby," I whispered toward my belly. "Daddy's got us."
"Daddy?" Connor grinned. "I like the sound of that."
My cheeks burned hot, and I tried to hide my face when he set me down.
"Not like that," he whispered in my ear. "We're going to be parents! We can't think dirty daddy thoughts!"
"You're baby," I reminded him.
"You're blushing because you want me to call you Daddy?" He teased.
"Don't you dare!"
"Papa." He laid a hand over my protruding belly and the baby kicked again. "See? They liked that. You're Papa." Connor grabbed me from behind and nibbled my ear. "The next time you're on top, I'm calling you Papa."
"You'll forget by then," I hoped.
My cock tented the front of my loose paternity pants. I adjusted them and then looked around the room.
The sight took my breath away. The room had been an eggshell white, which worked for me, but Connor had transformed the walls with gorgeous decals. The room was now an underwater sea scape with octopi, sharks, and other sea creatures.
"I love it. The baby will love it. Thank you." Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes when I blinked.
"I cannot wait for them to be here." Connor leaned down and kissed my bump. We hadn't wanted to learn the baby's sex yet, so we were using gender-neutral pronouns for them. We had almost three months before we could meet them, but they were very active, especially this time of the evening.
They were still kicking and punching after we'd gotten ready for bed. Connor laughed at the way the bedspread shifted with each judo chop.
"Do you want a belly massage?" Connor asked. "Or a general massage? Maybe a penis massage?"
I laughed at his attempt to get me to smile. I hadn't realized how hard I was clenching my jaw while trying to read.
"A belly massage sounds wonderful." I fitted the bookmark into the book's crease for later and set it on my nightstand. Gingerly, I lowered myself onto my back and rested my hands at my hips.
"Naked belly rubs are best," Connor said. He pulled the covers off me and helped me remove my pants and sleep shirt. Then, he slid one of our wolf towels beneath me so I wouldn't leak slick all over the bed.
It started as a belly rub, but then Connor's chin brushed my erect cock, and everything changed. He sucked my tip into his mouth and continued to knead my drum-tight skin. He inched lower on my cock, taking more of me in until I could feel his nose against my pubic hair. The wet heat soothed every ache in my body and drew all my attention. I couldn't see him around the curve of my belly, which made it even more erotic.
In no time, he had me on the edge, writhing and begging for more. Instead of giving me his knot, my alpha sank his fingers into me and twisted them mercilessly against my prostate. I came with a hoarse shout, and Connor swallowed me down.
I heard the slapping sound of his hand on his cock while he continued to slurp and lick me. Then, he rose above me on his knees.
"I want to cover your belly with my cum." His blown pupils almost eclipsed his irises. "Please?"
"Mark me, alpha."
He shouted something garbled, but it sounded a lot like "Yes, Papa." My face was on fire as he coated my belly in ropes of white. I liked that a little too much. My cock tried to rebound as his knot stretched wide. Who knew I had a bit of a Daddy, or Papa, kink?
"You're so gorgeous, carrying my pup," Connor said as he brutally jerked his still-hard cock from knot to tip. "So perfect for me." He lavished praise on me until his words jumbled together. This time, he growled my name when he came. He spurted twice and then his cock dribbled the rest over his hand. A few more strokes, and his knot deflated.
"Stay there," Connor said when I lifted onto my elbow to begin the difficult roll out of bed and waddle to get cleaned up.
"I still have to pee," I whined as he disappeared into the ensuite bathroom.
"In a minute!"
He cleaned me up in no time and then helped me out of bed. With his arm around my waist, it was more like I walked on air.
I felt so much love in that moment, but I held back. I knew I loved him, and everything he did showed he loved me, too, but we hadn't said the words yet. I was beginning to wonder if we ever would.
Once I'd done the rest of my nightly business, Connor walked me back to bed and tucked me in. He even leaned over and kissed my forehead the way my parents had when I was young. He would be such a great dad.
"How's the little kickboxer doing?" he asked.
I hadn't noticed a single kick since Connor came the first time. "I think we put them to sleep."
"We should sleep, too." He crawled into bed and turned off the light before snuggling down along my side with his head pillowed on my shoulder. Sated and warm, I fell asleep within minutes.